Cuyahoga County IT general counsel named in corruption probe subpoenas resigns

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Emily McNeeley, the general counsel for Cuyahoga County’s troubled IT Department and one of several people named in subpoenas related to an ongoing corruption investigation, has resigned from her $95,000-a-year job, the county reported Tuesday.

The resignation was effective Jan. 2.

In her resignation letter to Chief Technology Officer Michael Young, McNeeley said she has “remained able and willing to fulfill the obligations of my position” since she was placed on leave . She also asked the county for a time when she can send someone to the county administration building to collect her personal belongings “that have been held in the county’s custody” since she was placed on leave.

McNeeley was placed on unpaid leave in April after corruption investigators repeatedly named her, and her boss, IT Director Scot Rourke, in subpoenas served on the county.

Some of the subpoenas sought email and other communications related to McNeeley and Rourke.

Investigators also have asked about companies that represent potential conflicts of interest, including Hyland Software, where McNeeley's spouse worked as its manager of government contracts, and OneCommunity, which Rourke used to run.

The subpoenas sought email communications involving Rourke and McNeeley, as well as information about their access to certain county contracts. They also sought communications between McNeeley and Hyland Software dating to January 2016.

McNeeley had contacted the county's inspector general twice in 2016, when she was still an assistant law director with the county assigned to contracting and procurement. In both instances, McNeeley asked if her involvement with Hyland contracts represented a conflict of interest.

In response to the first request in March 2016, Inspector General Mark Griffin said no conflict existed as long as the county "does not contract directly with Hyland Software," or that McNeeley's spouse does not work on city or county procurement contracts at Hyland.

She sought a second opinion on May 2016, because the county's IT Department began receiving direct support from Hyland and her boss, Scot Rourke, was "considering expanding the County's business relationship with Hyland," according to Griffin's reply to McNeeley.

Griffin determined in that case that McNeeley did have a conflict, but that it would not prevent her from working on projects after contracts were awarded.

Hyland has provided services to Cuyahoga County for more than a decade. A contract with Hyland was approved by the County Council as recently as November 2017 to provide software upgrades to the Office of Child Support Services.

Another Hyland contract was approved in December 2016 to provide "maintenance and professional services on system upgrade and process improvement projects,” according to the county’s website.

McNeeley collected more than $8,400 in unused vacation and sick time since June 20, when she gave birth to a child, and was expected to collect a total of $21,600 while still on leave as a result of the Family and Medical Leave Act and sick time donated by some of her co-workers.